Starbucks to Hire 2500 Refugees in Europe

Starbucks, one of the world’s favorite places to stop for an iced chai tea latte or speciality fraps, has promised to hire thousands of refugees in Europe. The chain announced yesterday, which was World Refugee Day, that it plans to hire a minimum of 2,500 refugees to its European stores over the course of the next five years. Not only has the home of the Unicorn Frappuccino committed to hiring refugees in Europe, but in Canada as well. According to a press release, Starbucks plans to hire at least 1,000 refugees in Canada in the next five years.

Earlier this year, Starbucks CEO and chairman Howard Schultz wrote a letter to all Starbucks employees that was also released to the public, stating his plan for the company to begin hiring thousands of refugees.

Written in response to president Donald Trump’s executive order banning travel from several Muslim-majority nations, Schutlz wrote, “There are more than 65 million citizens of the world recognized as refugees by the United Nations, and we are developing plans to hire 10,000 of them over five years in the 75 countries around the world where Starbucks does business.”

Grub Street reports that Target will focus its European refugee hiring efforts in England, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands. As a part of this same initiative that was launched in January following Trump’s travel ban EO, Starbucks began a hiring campaign in the United States for people who have “served with US troops as interpreters and support personnel in the various countries where our military has asked for such support.”

The company has made a name for itself over the years with progressive initiatives such as these. Starbucks regularly catches outrage from conservative customers when the company announces socially responsible efforts, but Schultz seems comfortable enough with the company’s success (a share of the company’s stock is worth about $60 as of this writing) to keep forging ahead.